Widowed Archpriest Nominated for Election as Bishop of Alaska

It has been announced that the recent diocesan assembly of the Diocese of Sitka and Alaska has nominated Archpriest David Mahaffey, a widowed clergyman of the Diocese of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania, for election by the Holy Synod of the American Orthodox Church (OCA) as Bishop of Sitka and Alaska. More here.

Prague Metropolitan to Visit Alaska

It has been announced that Metropolitan Christopher (Pulec) of the 'Czechoslovak' Orthodox Church will begin a visit to the American Orthodox (OCA) Diocese of Sitka and Alaska at the end of this month. The visit will be the second to Alaska by a first hierarch of one of the Local Orthodox Churches. More here.

Unalaska Cathedral Vandalized

It is being reported that Unalaska's historic Cathedral of the Ascension has been desecrated by vandals who spray-painted "Dutch" and "Duncha" on the outside of the Alaskan Orthodox house of worship. Local Alaskan authorities have pledged to catch the perpetrator or perpetrators of the crime, which is both a federal offense (as the cathedral is a historic landmark) and possibly a hate crime. More here.

Alaskan Church Lands Returned to Sitka Diocese

After years of their management by the central ecclesiastical administration the church lands in Alaska have been returned by the American Orthodox Church (OCA) to the ownership of the Diocese of Sitka and Alaska. The lands were formally signed over to the Alaskan Orthodox Church by Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen) this past Wednesday in the presence of Bishop Benjamin (Pederson) of San Francisco, locum tenens of the Diocese of Sitka. The return of the lands means that the Alaskan Orthodox faithful now legally own their churches and cemeteries. The decision to return the lands was taken by the Metropolitan Council of the OCA. More here.

Alaskan Diocesan Assembly Postponed Indefinitely

Bishop Benjamin (Peterson) of San Francisco of the American Orthodox Church (OCA) has accepted a request from the chancellor and deans of the OCA's Diocese of Sitka and Alaska that the special diocesan assembly scheduled for August, at which the Diocese was to nominate a candidate for election as Bishop of Sitka, be cancelled indefinitely to allow the Diocese more time to both find and get to know potential candidates for the vacant Sitka cathedra. More here.

OCA Holy Synod Rejects Episcopal Candidate for Alaskan Orthodox Church

A leading candidate in consideration for nomination as the next Bishop of Sitka, Archimandrite Juvenaly (Repass), is apparently no longer a candidate for the vacant Alaskan Orthodox cathedra following the recent refusal of the Holy Synod of the American Orthodox Church to approve his candidacy. More here.

Alaskan Diocesan Assembly in August to Nominate Episcopal Candidate

It has been announced that this August a special diocesan assembly will meet in Anchorage, Alaska, to nominate a candidate for election by the Holy Synod of the American Orthodox Church as Bishop of Sitka and Alaska. More here.

New Candidate Considered for Diocese of Sitka

It appears that the Diocese of Sitka and Alaska of the American Orthodox Church will nominate Archimandrite Juvenaly (Repass), a monk of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk's Monastery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, currently serving at St. Herman's Theological Seminary in Kodiak, Alaska, for election as Bishop of Sitka. The candidate formerly under consideration for the vacant Sitka cathedra, Archimandrite Gerasim (Eliel), appears to be out of the running due to his desire to finish his studies at St. Vladimir's Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York. Fr. Juvenaly was previously a candidate for nomination for election to the cathedra of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. More here.

Fr. Gerasim Leads Chicago Lenten Seminar

Archimandrite Gerasim (Eliel), former abbot of St. Herman's Monastery in Platina, California, led a Lenten seminar at the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of the Resurrection in Libertyville, Illinois, earlier this week. Fr. Gerasim, currently a student at St. Vladimir's Seminary in Crestwood, New York, is widely expected to be the next Bishop of Sitka. More here.

New Bishop of Sitka to be Consecrated in 2011?

Forgive me for overlooking this until now, but it appears that the close of the 16th All-American Council this coming summer will be shortly followed by the consecration in Sitka of a new bishop for the American Orthodox Church's Diocese of Alaska. More here. That's all that's been said for the time being, but presumably Archimandrite Gerasim (Eliel), currently a student at St. Vladimir's Seminary in Crestwood, New York, and previously abbot of St. Herman of Alaska's Monastery in Platina, California, will be the one being consecrated in Sitka. Provided, of course, that the consecration is still on the calendar when the current confusion is resolved.

Bishop Benjamin Visits Nondalton, AK; Opposes US Mine Opening

On Theophany this year Bishop Benjamin (Peterson) of San Francisco of the American Orthodox Church celebrated the festal services in Nondalton, Alaska, to highlight the plight of the Athabaskan Orthodox village and its neighboring villages, which have been targeted by US companies to be turned into the world's largest open pit copper and gold mine. The Diocese of Sitka and Alaska is strongly behind the villages' efforts to halt the development of the mine, which has already been approved by the US-backed government of Alaska. More here.